One Tough Goldfish

Here’s a story of feeder goldfish that beat the odds. Seven years ago, at Shima Marineland in Japan, a small goldfish was thrown into a tank, intended as food for a hungry Arapaima. In case you didn’t know it, Arapaima are among the world’s largest freshwater fish, growing over 10 feet long and weighing over 400 pounds. The little goldfish managed to escape the hungry mouth of the Arapaima and ended up in the aquariums filter system. Where it lived for seven years eating detritus and other bits. During a recent filter cleaning, an aquarist was shocked to find the goldfish, now ten inches long, alive and well in the filter. The fish showed no signs of injury, however, it was a little pale, due to the years living in darkness. Now the goldish has turned into a bit of a celebrity and has its own display tank in the aquarium. MORE

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Francis Yupangco

Francis is a marine biologist with an MBA and over 20 years of professional aquarium experience. Francis is the former Aquatic Development Manager at Hagen USA., makers of Fluval brand aquarium products. He co-stars on Nat Geo WILD's reality TV series Fish Tank Kings where he is the resident "Fish Geek" and was Director of Marketing at Living Color Aquariums. He is an avid explorer having visited over 45 countries and lived in 7. At 17, he was among the youngest aquarists ever hired by the Vancouver Aquarium, where he worked for 7 years. His aquatic biology experience ranges from larval fish rearing to the design, construction and operational management of renowned public aquariums around the world. Francis is currently head of marketing at the world's largest vertically integrated fish farming company.